College lacrosse player returns to field, scores goal after losing leg in moped accident

In 2016, UMass-Lowell lacrosse player Noelle Lambert lost a leg in a moped accident.

She started all 17 games as a freshman for the River Hawks that year before the accident that forced doctors to amputate her left leg above the knee.

A first-time rider, she was driving a moped in Martha’s Vineyard with a teammate on the back seat when she lost control and veered into a dump truck, according to a profile on UMass Lowell’s website. Her teammate Kelly Moran suffered lacerations and torn ligaments, but Lambert’s leg could not be saved.

“I got to talk to my mom on the scene and I told her I’m OK. I probably said I was sorry a hundred times,” Lambert said. “I was totally conscious. Lacrosse was one of the first things I thought about because I knew I lost my leg right on the scene. I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to play again.”

Lambert’s eventual diagnosis determined that she would be able to move and function at a high level with a prosthetic. On Saturday, for the first time since the accident, she put that outlook to test on a competitive lacrosse field.

Lambert’s goal was great, but even better was the celebration, where she ran and jumped with her teammates, showing no apparent signs of suffering from having to use a prosthetic. The River Hawks defeated Hartford, 16-1.